We Only Have Each Other
by Wordmagination
Summary: Len is a loving, hardworking father raising his beloved daughter alone, but is working two jobs, becoming depressed, and trying to forget bitter relations with Rin's mother. Rin is facing vicious bullies at school and is slowly crumbling, but doesn't want to worry her dad. Can they learn to lean on each other as things get worse for them and find light in their lives?
1. In Which We Present The Story

**Hi! The name's Emma. I am rewriting a story I wrote and never finished in the past, so some of you may recognize it. This first chapter took me a while to write, but it's here! Enjoy!**

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Len slowly opened the door to Rin's room, his eyes adjusting to the dimness of his surroundings. With light footsteps, he walked over to the large window directly opposite from her bed and drew the curtains, rays of gentle light flooding into the room. "Rin, you have to wake up now. It's time for school."

The sleeping girl under the covers groaned and pulled her yellow comforter over her head. "Dad, just give me, like, ten more minutes. I'm exhausted..."

"I already gave you ten more minutes," he said, smiling gently and pulling the covers from over her head. "Get up. I made breakfast."

Len disappeared into the doorway once he saw his daughter sit up and put on her glasses, her blonde hair going in all directions from her usual flopping while asleep. He vividly remembered when she was afraid of storms and would crawl into his bed when she heard rain during the night. He would be awake, reading a book, and he would hear teeny-tiny little feet padding through the hallway. A small voice would call, "Daddy? It's raining. I'm scared," and he would plug in her night-light so she could sleep with him. All throughout the night, she would flip, flop, kick, punch, and unintentionally abuse her father in a sleep-induced haven.

Although he would have to chug about three more cups of coffee the next morning, he never minded. A little part of him was always happy that his daughter went to him in her time of need. After all, they only had each other. Rin was the sole reason that Len kept going with his life. In his eyes, Rin was the most delightful person in the world. Of course, she had her faults; she could be stubborn and lazy, and she adopted his trait of worrying constantly, but she was smart, kind, funny, and a shining light that guided Len through his life. Len, thirty-eight years old at that time, never spoke to his parents, as they had tried so hard to dictate how he lived his life. He didn't know what he would do if Rin felt that way about him, as she was always number one, always first.

Rin yawned three times as she dragged herself into the kitchen. Len was sitting at the table already, reading a book and drinking a cup of coffee, his eyebrows knitted together in concentration. He was still wearing the red T-shirt and gray sweatpants that he had slept in. She hungrily eyed the plate of bacon and eggs and was fully awake immediately. "Morning," she said, sliding into her chair and picking up her fork.

"I'm guessing that you slept quite well?" Len said, dog-earring his page and setting the book down.

"Like a rock," Rin replied, her words distorted by the heap of food in her mouth. "Dad, why don't you ever eat in the mornings?"

Her father took a long drink of his coffee and stood up to grab another cup. "I'm not usually hungry. I only make breakfast because you love it so much. Plus, you're so darn skinny... Your doctor said last visit that you're underweight."

"How do you drink your coffee black and not vomit?"

"I put a ton of sugar in it, so it's not technically black. How do you eat bacon and eggs every morning and not vomit?"

She nodded. "Touche. But I get cranky if I don't eat breakfast."

She scarfed down the rest of her food and stood up to put her plate in the dishwasher. As she ran back to her room to get ready for school, she thanked Len for the food.

At Crypton High School, after many referrals given for dress code violations, students were required to wear uniforms; collared of any color were allowed, with khaki or black pants for boys and khaki or black skirts for girls. A lot of people disliked this idea, but the students eventually got over it. Rin chose a yellow collared shirt and her typical tan skirt with some black Mary Janes.

Len drove Rin to school and dropped her off in front of her building. She sat down on a bench by a flight of stairs, her and her best friend's usual place to stay when the school got free time. After waiting for a good while, she was wondering where Gumi was. It was not typical for her to be late, but it was not impossible.

Suddenly, she heard rapid footsteps; upon lifting her head to look, she saw Gumi Megpoid bounding towards her, her shirt not tucked in and the laces of her sneakers coming loose.

"Am I late?! I'm late, aren't I?!"

Rin rolled her eyes and stood up, collecting her things. "No, chill out. The bell hasn't rung yet." She smiled gently and gestured for the green-headed girl to follow her into the building and down the hall.

"My mom is so obsessed with speed limits. I couldn't get her to bloody go for anything," Gumi said, adjusting her trademark goggles on the top of her head. "So, did you watch Project Diva last night? The cute guy went home..."

"You're boy-obsessed, you know that?"

"You can't say he wasn't cute."

"Well, he was, but you'd be the first to call on it."

Deep in their conversation, not paying attention to anyone else at the time, they didn't notice the fact that a group of terrifyingly preppy girls was staring at them. The group, harboring five hormonal teenage girls, was talking quietly, their eyes obviously positioned on Rin and Gumi. As the two friends passed by, one girl (neither Rin nor Gumi recalled her name) said, "Hey, why do you wear those goggles? They look really dumb."

Gumi ignored her.

They could hear faint laughing as they continued down the hall, walking this time at a faster pace. The bell rang, and the halls almost instantly became flooded with teenagers and a few teachers just trying to do work before the icky little things began crawling into their classrooms. At their lockers, Gumi and Rin took their time. Unlike many people in their classes, they were not constantly late.

"Did you tell your dad about what's going on?" Gumi asked, closing her locker gently and twisting a piece of her green hair around her finger.

Rin sighed and shook her head. "I haven't said a word." She looked in her math book to make sure that her work was still there and sighed yet again.

"Tell him. He'll help you. My mom helped me with what she said—"

Rin leaned on the lockers and closed her eyes. "It's fine. I'll be okay."

"No," Gumi said sternly. "You won't. Nothing good will come from just letting Miku continually be rude to you."

"I can't say anything. She'll tear me apart!" Rin shook her head and gave Gumi a look that just cried, _Please, let's drop it._

At that moment, Miku Hatsune walked into the room, being followed by a meek-looking Aoki Lapis. "Rin, Rin, Rin!" the former of the two said, slamming her hands on Rin's desk. "Let me see your homework! I didn't do it."

Rin shook her head. "Oh, well. Sucks for you."

Miku scoffed and gave her a nasty look. "Don't be a prude about it. Just let me see it."

"No."

"You don't have to be a bitch about it, you know." With that, Miku sighed heavily and turned around, strutting over to her desk. When she sat down, it was quite obvious that she was talking about Rin—not saying good things, most likely—to her friends. Rin felt her heart sink, but she refused to let it show.

Gumi leaned forward and grinned. "I studied my _brains_ out last night."

Rin chuckled, happy that her friend was here to make things easier. "You got any left for the test?"

Mr. Hiyama stood up and gave the usual talk about how cheating was unacceptable and passed out all the tests. He took up the homework and said that it would be taken for a grade, making Rin feel delightful. She could feel Miku's cold eyes staring at her from across the room as the tests were given out. Rin flew through it, not even feeling the need to check her answers.

She was a straight-A student. She found comfort in knowledge and embraced it whole-heartedly. Rin was the type of person who would instantly Google a question that had been bothering her and then spend an hour researching it. She was also very shy in class and did not like being the center of attention.

The day went by, and, in quick time, it was lunch. Rin and Gumi went to Mrs. Yowane's classroom to set down their books. The teacher herself, who taught history (Rin's favorite), entered the room and grinned at her two students, who were secretly her favorite, as well. "Hello, girls," she said quietly, brushing a few strands of her gray hair out of her face.

"Hey, Mrs. Yowane," Rin and Gumi said in unison as they started heading towards the lunchroom.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you," Rin said as they entered the lunch line, making disgusted faces at the gross-looking meat in little Styrofoam cups and going for turkey and cheese sandwiches, "Dad got another job."

Gumi filled the majority of her plate with carrots and snuck one into her mouth when the lunch ladies weren't looking. "Really? Where at?"

"Local news station, KVOC. Channel fifteen. He writes news stories. Same exact thing he does at the Crypton Chronicle, but whatever." Rin sat down in her usual spot at the end of the lunch table, watching people file into the large room.

"Did that just not pay the bills or something?" Gumi asked, her mouth fill of carrots.

"I thought it did," Rin replied, peeling an orange. "Now he has to work until three. He said that he would still make sure to pick me up every day, though. I'm worried about him. I knew he was tired all the time already, but now he'll be exhausted..." She sighed inwardly and propped her chin on the palm of her hand. "He says that I should focus on my studies and wait until summer to get a job, but I don't know. I want to help out."

Gumi grinned and shrugged her shoulders. "Well, he cares about you. He wants the best for you, you know that. He wouldn't get a second job if he didn't."

"You're right," Rin said. "Plus, he said that we would have more money to hang out more instead sitting at home all the time."

"See, he's trying! But you still haven't told him about Miku..."

Rin shook her head and hunched over slightly, feeling slightly ashamed. Miku's verbal attacks were getting worse. Plus, a lot of people were ignoring her and making fun of her. She'd heard people whispering that she had an eating disorder and cut herself—the typical high-school insults. She tried not to let it get to her, but it was discouraging when someone saw you eating very well and then assumed that you were binging. "I don't want to worry him."

"He would help you get through it. Just let him know."

"No, I'm not. He doesn't need to worry about me."

"He would want to know..."

"No."

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**If any of you remember the original, let me know! **

**I'm sorry it's short and shitty, but hey, at least I wrote a thing.**

**Constructive criticism is happily accepted!**


	2. In Which the Chapter Is Short I'm Sorry

**Sorry it was so late. I got sick. And. Yeah. Hope you enjoy!**

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Len tapped away at his keyboard, his fingers flying across the jumbled-up alphabet on each of the buttons and forming words. He yawned, not looking away from his screen, correcting an error he made.

The previous night, he hadn't gotten any sleep. All he did was worry. He couldn't stop thinking about all the things that could possibly go wrong. His neck bothered him constantly, an ache continually hammering at it. He had tried nearly every over-the-counter pain medication there was (despite how much the price of said medication sometimes bothered him nearly as much as his neck), and nothing seemed to help.

Lately, he hadn't felt right. It seemed like he couldn't enjoy anything anymore. He found himself dreading going to work, even though he used to love his job. The excitement of writing and informing the public about crimes and events and special happening throughout the city once thrilled him. He used to be okay with sitting through long commission meetings and having to try too hard to achieve an audience with certain officials. Now, he only wanted to go home and sleep. He just felt like all he could do was close his eyes and not wake up for a few days.

He even felt strange at home. Reading had been his favorite pastime even before he technically knew how to read. He had loved to sit on the couch and just fly through a book; lately, he didn't even feel like doing that.

Often times, he didn't even feel motivated enough to get up in the mornings. He forced himself to, but it was harder and required more coffee. Len had a secret vow to _not_ try those 5-hour-energy shots, as he was constantly reminded of the time a coworker of his had downed two on an empty stomach and was bouncing off the walls for nearly an entire day.

All he could do now was finish this story. He could finish it, submit it to the teleprompter operators, go get Rin, and then go home.

He was finally submitting his story, blinded by the desire of the comfort of his own home, when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned and saw Luka Megurine, the head meteorologist at the station. "Luka," he said, grinning.

She returned the smile, her lips curving gently. "That's about the robbery on Foster Street, right?" She leaned down to read what he had written, her blue eyes racing over the words.

"Yeah," he replied. "Apparently, the guy didn't wear any gloves. He left fingerprints all over the place. What an idiot... The police needed a break, though. It's a good thing the chief has some sense."

Luka laughed and slid into a swivel chair beside him. "Only a journalist would say that."

"Well, it _is _sad that both the criminals and police are too stupid."

"True. You are doing really great here, though. One other writer we had gave really crappy articles and didn't do the right research. We would end up broadcasting the wrong information and having constantly make corrections. Plus, he wrote like he hadn't taken an English class his entire life." They heard a phone ring in the distance, and it was answered within a few seconds. "The ratings have gone up."

Len raised a brow and crossed his arms. "Really?"

"I was skeptical about it, too," Luka said, straightening her pencil skirt, "but I think we really just needed someone who was trained for journalism."

Len smirked at her, his smile crooked and almost childlike. Even though Len had started only a while ago, he and Luka had become friends. Unlike the anchors, she did not have an ego the size of Texas, and, unlike the other employees, she had a knowledge of the station that was not only limited to her area of work. Len glanced at the clock and cursed under his breath. "Ah, hell, I have to go get Rin. Sorry," he said, hopping up and grabbing his bag.

Luka stood up as well, crossing her arms over her body. "No, you're fine. You're a dad. Go do what you need to do."

He gave a limp two-fingered salute and headed out. In his car, he saw that the time was two forty-five, giving him just enough time to run over to Crypton High and pick up Rin.

When he got there, Rin and Gumi were waiting together. They said goodbye and Rin slid into the car, setting her bag in the floorboard. "Hey, Dad," she said, adjusting her glasses and buckling her seatbelt.

"Hey, Kiddo. You seem to be in a good mood."

Rin shrugged. "Eh, today was pretty normal."

"How did that test go for you?"

"Passed with flying colors," she said, turning the air vents toward her so she could get some cool air. Rin had been hot-natured her whole life. She had a childhood of kicking the covers off her bed and being strictly limited to shorts and tank tops while sleeping. She turned her head and looked at her dad, fixing the large bow on top of her head. "What's for dinner tonight?"

Len rolled down his window so he could hang his elbow out of it. "I was thinking that we could get Chinese. Does that sound good to you?"

"That sounds perfect," Rin said. "Although, I was meaning to ask you. Why did you have to get another job? We got along just fine with you having just one..."

Len sighed, half from having to explain to her and half from being behind some idiot who wouldn't go over twenty miles an hour. "Well, yes, it did get the bills paid, and we had just a bit left, but there wasn't enough for emergency expenses. If one of us had gotten sick, I wouldn't have been able to pay a doctor."

"I could get a job, though."

"I know, but I think it might be best to wait until summer, when I can work on getting you a car and all. Plus, you're only sixteen. It's my job to support us both. You shouldn't feel inclined to help."

Rin nodded, understanding what her father was saying. When he was young, Len didn't have much privacy or freedom. He was forced to get a job as soon as he was of age, and his parents expected him to go into the medical field and make boatloads of money so he could support _them_. Len would not have that, so he left as soon as he finished high school and began college on his own.

They pulled into the parking lot of their apartment complex, a nice little place called Sweet Float Flats. It was clean and had pretty decent residents, so Len figured that it was okay. It was not too far from the school or Len's workplaces, either. They went inside and set their things down.

Deciding not to waste any time, Len called the local Chinese food joint and placed their order; he already knew that Rin would want sweet and sour chicken and lo mein. He left Rin at their flat to go pick up the food.

At the restaurant, he waited patiently, trying not to get annoyed at how slow they were _every single time_. The food was finally ready, and he paid for it and picked up the bag. On his way out, he spotted someone familiar coming inside. "_Shit,_" he said to himself, looking down in hopes of hiding his face.

"Oh, my god! Len!"

Len put on a fake smile and looked up, his heart racing, dreading this audience.

Neru Akita was standing in front of him yet again.

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**DUNDUNDUNN**

**Make sure to tell me if you remember! Review! Any constructive criticism? **


	3. In Which Things Are Revealed

**I'm not so great at meeting personal deadlines.**

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Rin tried to catch her breath as she stared at her Facebook, her heart pounding, her hands shaking.

"Um, who are you and why are you saying stuff about Miku?"

"Bitch"

"What in hell is wrong with you? Stop trash-talking people."

"Why don't you go die?"

"I bet _you're _the whore. Stop being a bitch."

"What a slut."

She ran her fingers through her hair and stood from her chair at her desk, closing the window and hastily slamming her laptop closed. She felt her eyes stinging, just begging to overflow with tears, her mind crammed with thoughts about these strangers. All of a sudden, she had gotten all these messages from people she did not know. At least ten people had messaged her saying that she had talked badly about Miku. Yeah, to _Gumi_!

She did not understand what was happening, nor did she understand why it was happening to her. "Oh, my God," she said quietly, her face twisting into one of horror when she heard her phone buzzing from more accusatory messages. She threw a pillow over it, and she continued to hear the _buzz buzz_ that it made, and she still heard the little blips of new messages resounding in her head—

Len put on a fake smile as Neru exclaimed, "Len! It's been years—how many... Ten? Eleven?"

"Thirteen, actually," he said quietly, wishing a hole in the ground would appear and take him somewhere else at that very moment.

Neru Akita used to be a wonderful person. She used to be kind and caring, but she then got into alcohol and drugs and everything went to hell. She only brought back bad memories, terrible visions of the the past that Len wished he could just forget. He rubbed the back of his head, feeling of a distinct knot where he remembered a can of hairspray being thrown at him.

The man with her was vaguely familiar, but Len could not wrap his head around who is was—no, wait, his name was Rei. Rei Kagene. Neru wrapped her arm around him, grinning. They both reeked of alcohol, but Neru looked a little too drunk to even be able to stand upright. "How's Rin?" she said, her balance wobbly.

"She's great. At the top of her class." Len cringed having to tell Neru about their—_his—_daughter. Neru was hardly any mother to Rin.

"That's amazing!" Neru said.

She was no doubt about to ask another question before Len said, "I have to go. Rin's waiting." He waved half-heartedly and hurriedly left the building, feeling like he could drop dead.

When he got into his car, his hands were shaking and he honestly felt like he could cry. He had moved. He had distanced himself. He thought that he would forever be rid of her. He had a some difficulty breathing as he cranked the car and turned the air conditioning on. His knuckles were white from his grip on the steering wheel, and the streetlamps had just been turned on, shrouding his body in artificial white light—

"Neru, I'm not doing this. Not when Rin is here."

"No, you asshole! I am!" Neru opened the door of their house, her face angrier than Len knew she could get. She held a brand-new can of hairspray in her hand, gripping it tightly, her small hand wrapped just below the nozzle.

Len hastily buckled Rin into her car seat as he began to sweat. "Rin, we're going to... We're just going to get out of the house, okay?"

Rin nodded happily. Her three-year-old mind could only register that something was happening, and she knew that this certain thing was very, very bad, as her father's hands were shaking more than she'd ever seen. He kissed her forehead lightly and walked around to reach the driver's side.

He left the door closed for a moment as he walked back to the doorstep. "Neru," he said, his voice stern, trying to keep a decent volume for Rin's sake, "you need to do something about this. You are _not_ going to act like this around Rin. She's three, for God's sake-"

"No!" Neru yelled. "Tell me! Tell me what's wrong!" She stumbled for a moment, and Len tried to catch her from falling, but Neru only slapped his hands away in a fit of anger.

Len tried to control himself and not get in a fight with her no matter how much he wanted to. He so wanted to yell back, to let her know that she was a drunkard, to let her know that she was a terrible mother. His mind told him no, and he listened.

Neru stamped her foot as she said, "You think I'm an idiot. You think I'm a drunk. You think I'm all these things, and you won't even let me be around my _daughter_ by myself-"

"And that's because of what you're doing right now. You need to find some way to fix this because I am _sick _and_ tired_ of it." Len backed away, shaking his head. "I- I can't do this. I can't."

He turned to walk away, settling his eyes on Rin. She was the only thing he lived for at this point. She was the only thing that brought him any light in the dark crevice that was indeed his life at such a time. All he wanted to do was drive for a while until he was somewhere else and just stay there. Just be away from his wife. No, this was not what he married. He married someone he loved, someone who made him happy, a woman who was strong and kind and eager to settle down and start a family and be happy, not this drunkard who hated everyone.

He was about to open the door to the car when he felt the can of hairspray hit him in the back of the head, making him dizzy for a moment. He grabbed onto the car to regain his balance and managed to open the door and slide in.

"Daddy?" a small voice said, causing Len to turn around. Rin stared at him with her big blue eyes, worry written all over her face. "What's happening?"

Len felt guilt stab him through the chest. "Your mother isn't the same anymore. She's... She's changed." He reached back and gently enveloped Rin's little hand with his own, stroking her soft skin with his thumb. "But I'm going to get you taken care of. You're my number one, remember?" He forced a smile for her and looked away for a moment.

"Where are we going?"

Len started up the car and backed out, feeling the car run over the can of hairspray.

"Rin, I'm back!"

Len closed the door behind him, smiling at the thought of hopefully being rid of Neru. He frowned when Rin did not answer, for it was unlike her to not come bounding into the living room to greet him like she had done for years.

He walked back to her room and gently knocked on her closed door. "Hey, Kiddo. Are you okay? I got some food, if you're hungry now."

Rin cursed under her breath and wiped her tears away. "Yeah, I'll- I'll be right there. Changing." She leaped from her seat on the bed and quickly slipped into a T-shirt and some shorts, constantly checking her mirror to see if her eyes were still read and puffy.

She had spent the last twenty minutes crying. When Len left, she got on Facebook and saw the multitude of hate directed at her. After a great deal of tears and the great desire to disappear from the Earth, she had to fake it. She had to act like everything was okay, like nothing was bothering her. She decided that, on the morrow, she would delete her account and stop the hate entirely. She'd dealt with petty elementary-school bullies before. This was high school. She could handle a bully. The tears were just raging hormones, she figured.

She opened the door and walked into the kitchen, smiling at her dad. She got the Styrofoam trays from the plastic bag and set them on the table while Len grabbed two water bottles. They sat down, and, for a moment, everything seemed normal.

Although, Rin and Len knew each other better than anyone else; they knew when something was amiss. Len was the first to call on it: "Rin, are you doing okay? You look pale." As her father, he knew when she was bothered or upset. She tended to lose color and become more nervous.

She grinned and nodded. "Yeah, of course, I was just _really _hungry," she said, stuffing a large piece of chicken into her mouth. "How about you?"

Len followed suit. "I'm fine," he said, his mouth full and his words distorted, earning a laugh from Rin.

"But, something is... Up." Len swallowed his food and looked away, feeling the same sensation of nervousness that he felt when Rin was three. Rin nodded to signal that she was listening. "I, um, bumped into someone today."

"Oh, yeah?" Rin replied. "Who?"

Len set his elbows on the table, pressing his fingers together and contemplating what he was about to say. "I saw your mother and her... Significant other."

Rin stayed silent and furrowed her brows.

"She's the same as she was before."

"How was she before?"

The father sighed again. All of a sudden, he looked tireder to Rin. His dark circles seemed to become more visible and he looked paler. Rin could now see the crow's feet developing beside his eyes that were most likely once a brighter blue, having dulled in luster over time. He frowned as he said, "A drunk."

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**hey now, you're a rockstar, get your game on, go play**

**Sorry about the being late thing. And sorry if y'all think it sucks booty. I'm actually really proud of this chapter, though! **

**Thanks for reading! Leave a review!**


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